Sources have told Media Week that the hacking scandal has frightened News International executives away from launching the replacement tabloid this summer – despite speculation that it could launch in August for the start of the football season.
Last week James Murdoch, chairman of News International told MPs at a select committee hearing that there were "no immediate plans" to replace the News of the World.
Some reports have speculated that News International executives had approached advertisers with a view to launching next month. Sources have now told Media Week this is not the case.
While a Sunday tabloid is firmly on the agenda, the earliest time for launch could be October, but is more likely to be next year. News International is now the owner of the domain name, www.sunonsunday.co.uk.
News International executives believe there need to be a significant period of time for the hacking story to die down and that it would be ill-conceived to launch in the immediate future.
Separately, Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT), publisher of The Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday, is still undecided whether to launch a Sunday to grab market share from the News of the World.
A News International spokesman said it had no immediate plans to launch a Sunday tabloid.
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